UC Continues Pattern of Record-Breaking Enrollments

If it’s sounding like a broken record, it’s because the University of Cincinnati is breaking a bunch of records as fall semester gets underway on Aug. 25. Total student enrollment, total freshman enrollment and the total number of baccalaureate degree-seeking freshmen are all expected to be all-time records. And that’s not all … Projected figures of overall enrollment number 43,600, up 2.2 percent from 2013, which was previously UC’s highest enrollment in its 195-year history.

UC’s record freshman class is expected to number 6,607 (including the regional campuses of Blue Ash College and Clermont College), up 4 percent from 2013. Freshmen on the Uptown Campus are expected to number a record 4,650, up 4.5 percent from 2013. UC’s first-year retention rate is at 86.5 percent for baccalaureate degree-seeking freshmen on the Uptown Campus, on track for hitting a target of 90-percent by the university’s bicentennial in 2019.

Enrollment is also up among UC’s graduate students, distance learners, transfer students, international undergraduate students and international graduate students. UC’s number of out-of-state students (9,224) is up 8.5 percent over last fall.

Uptown Freshman Class – Cincinnati Smart

The average ACT score for the Uptown baccalaureate degree-seeking freshman class is up significantly: 25.5, compared with 25.1 in 2013. Among the Uptown freshmen are 71 valedictorians. UC is also expecting a record number of 48 National Merit/National Achievement Finalists to enter the freshman class on the Uptown Campus, with the target goal to enroll 60 new National Merit/National Achievement Finalists by 2019. UC’s total number of National Merit/National Achievement Scholars is expected to reach 170, with the 2019 target goal of increasing UC’s total number of National Merit/National Achievement Scholars to 200.

UC’s freshmen on the Uptown Campus are coming from near and far, representing 30 countries, 37 states (plus Washington, D.C.) and 80 Ohio counties. Twenty-six percent of UC’s incoming freshmen are first-generation college students.

UC Housing and Food Services reports demand for on-campus housing reached a record high this fall, partly because of the booming incoming freshman class as well as demand from upperclassmen wanting to live on campus. To serve the demand for campus housing, UC Housing and Food Services purchased additional block leases near campus and reorganized space in the Stratford Heights Complex to accommodate additional beds.

UC begins classes on the heels of a successful annual fundraising campaign that brought in more than $170 million in private support for the university, surpassing its $125 million fundraising goal.

Final numbers for enrollment are reported to the state in mid-September.

The third-annual foam party and fireworks display, sponsored by Student Government and the Office of the President, begins at 10:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 22, on Sigma Sigma Commons. The event runs through 2 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 23.

Creating UC’s Third Century: A Focused, Sustained Investment in People

Reimagining the Student Experience

New Cincinnatus scholars – They’re the most heavily recruited students by institutions around the nation and this fall, they’ll be entering UC from near and far. Eleven incoming freshmen are recipients of the full, four-year $92,000 Presidential Cincinnatus awards to pay for tuition, room and board, books and fees.

Global partnerships – All 34 students participating in Chongqing University’s joint co-op institute with UC obtained engineering co-op positions for the university’s first available co-op term this fall.

Global study – Experiential-learning opportunities such as study abroad are aspirations for academic institutions because research has found they can change lives. UC recently joined an initiative by the Institute of International Education (IIE) to double the number of American students who study abroad by the end of the decade. As part of the Generation Study Abroad initiative, UC has launched a stretch goal for 1,700 of its American undergraduates to study abroad by 2019, increasing from the 1,500 target goal previously set in the Academic Master Plan. UC International reports that in 2013-14, 1,349 students took part in a study abroad experience such as faculty-led trips, internships, semester-exchange programs, service-learning experiences and cooperative education. The most popular destinations were the United Kingdom, followed by France.

Service learning – UC’s Office of the Provost reports that approximately 1,000 UC students this fall are enrolled in a class with a service-learning component. Forty-five classes provide service-learning this fall, described as reflective, educational experiences blended with service activities that foster a deeper understanding of course content and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility. The 2013-14 academic year offered 94 service-learning courses that enrolled more than 3,000 students.

A welcoming, global campus – UC’s efforts to welcome international students, not only to a new university but also to a new country, are gaining national and international notice. UC rose considerably this year in an annual survey that examines the recruitment of international students.

E-Books – The UC Bookstores introduced BryteWave digital textbooks this fall. These e-books cost 46-60 percent less than a new, print textbook. The user friendly e-books can be accessed on laptops, tablets or mobile phones, and have page numbers consistent with the print version of the textbook. Students can read, highlight, take notes and share notes through BryteWave, as well as use the notebook feature to develop custom study guides.

E-text pilot – The Department of Chemistry and UC Bookstores launch a new program this fall to save students time and money.

Rent-a-Text – University of Cincinnati Bookstores enters the fifth year of its Rent-A-Text Program, which provides savings up to 50 percent off the price of new textbooks. Linda Gindele, regional manager of the UC Bookstores, says the program saved students more than $1.2 million last year. More than 25,600 books were rented, which was 26.5 percent of the total number of textbooks sold during the last academic school year.

E-Learning portal – Canopy is the umbrella eLearning ecosystem that will house all of UC’s eLearning tools and resources.

UC*Metro – UC and Metro have signed a three-year extension to the UC Metro Program Agreement. Metro has also opened its new Uptown Transit District to better connect students.

NightRide – UC is expanding its free nighttime shuttle service for the Uptown West Campus and Academic Health Center by adding three vans, bringing the total number of shuttles to eight vans. The expansion meets the growing popularity of the service and reduces wait times. NightRide shuttles provide reliable transportation to and from locations within a one mile radius around campus. Lighting, Security Enhancements – UC is collaborating with community partners to enhance lighting while making sustainable investments on and around campus. In neighborhoods east and west of campus, UC is teaming up with Duke Energy to upgrade 149 lights and install an additional 172 LED lights. On campus, new energy-efficient lighting was added in campus garages.

LiveSafe App – The new LiveSafe mobile app connects users with UC Police. It also allows friends or family members to monitor users in real-time as they walk to a destination.New Programs of Study

Graduate Programs

UC’s McMicken College of Arts and Sciences now offers a master’s degree in professional writing.

The Carl H. Lindner College of Business now has a concentration in insurance risk management in its bachelor of business administration program.

The McMicken College of Arts and Sciences now offers a new, pre-medicine pathway to its bachelor of arts in liberal arts – a concentration in medicine, health and society.

Bachelor’s Degree Partnerships

UC Clermont College now features a pre-health sciences pathway for its associate degree students, a program designed in partnership with the College of Allied Health Sciences. Students can complete their associate’s degree at UC Clermont and then transition into the bachelor’s program in the College of Allied Health Sciences.

New Online Graduate Certificates(An interdisciplinary partnership launched last spring between the Carl H. Lindner College of Business and the College of Allied Health, an example of Third Century collaborations across colleges and the Academic Health Center.)

Teachers College – The final phase of renovations on Teachers College gets underway, with much of the updates centered on the Dyer Hall portion of the building. Renovations are expected to be completed in summer 2016.

Nippert Stadium Project – The $86 million expansion project on Nippert Stadium Construction will reroute Bearcats Football into Paul Brown Stadium this fall. The expansion project on Nippert Stadium began last December following the last football game of the season. The renovated and expanded stadium is expected to reopen in August 2015.

Marge Schott Stadium Project – A summer turf installation project at Marge Schott Stadium involved the first field renovation in the stadium’s 10-year history.

Sustainability AchievementsRed and Black ... and 'Green'The Office of Sustainability reported that UC's recent "green" efforts have led to a fifth-consecutive placement in The Princeton Review's "Guide to 332 Green Colleges" and a silver rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System. Among other new sustainability initiatives are:

Charging stations: Parking Services has installed UC's first electric vehicle-charging stations in Lot 13 by the west façade of Wherry Hall on the medical campus and in Clifton Court Garage on West Campus. The stations charge vehicles at 240 volts and can completely charge a car within hours.

Fuel pellets: Utilities Services has been testing alternative solid fuels, including renewable paper pellets, and recently received a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency permit to use the pellets in place of coal in the university's boiler. UC's reliance on coal-fired energy is historically low, and the university continues working to supplant coal as its primary solid fuel.

Food focus: All food waste from MarketPointe@Siddall dining center and coffee grounds from campus cafés and Starbucks locations are composted. Food Services reports that through this program 98,610 pounds of organic waste was collected and composted in fall and spring semesters combined last year. Food Services also replaced the Styrofoam takeout boxes in use at Stadium View Cafe with reusable containers last fall. The multi-use containers were used for nearly 2,400 meals in fall and spring semesters combined. Food Services continually reviews options to make its services more "green."

Ranked among the nation’s top 25 public research institutions, the University of Cincinnati is distinguished in both teaching and research. Among the discoveries at UC are the first oral polio vaccine, the first antihistamine and the world’s first program of cooperative education. U.S. News has described UC as one of America's “up and coming” universities.